Housing Benefit - Make an application

If you are on a low income you could get Housing Benefit to help you pay your rent. Housing Benefit can pay for part or all of your rent and how much you may get will depend on your income and circumstances.

You can apply for Housing Benefit whether you’re unemployed or working however you may not be able to claim Housing Benefit if any of the following apply to you:

you are not liable to pay rent

either you, or your partner, or both of you together, have more than £16,000 in savings

Once you have made your application, if we need further information we will contact you either by telephone or by writing to you. It may help us to contact you quicker if you provide an up to date telephone number with your application.

If you wish to make an application for any other type of Benefit, or to see what else you may be entitled to claim please visit benefits adviser

What happens if there are changes in my circumstances?

If there are any changes in your circumstances (or of those living with you) you should not wait for us to contact you, please get in touch with us to let us know about the change. A late notification may mean you lose out on receiving more benefit that you may be entitled to or you may be getting too much benefit and this could lead to overpaid benefit.

If you are unsure what types of changes may need to be reported to us, please see the back of your latest award letter or contact us using the details below.

You can report changes to your circumstances with regards to your Housing Benefit entitlement online.

We aim to reply to you with regards to your change of circumstance claim within 10 working days.

From time to time we may contact you to check there have been no changes in your circumstances. If we do this we will either visit you, send you a form in the post to complete or telephone you.

Can my claim for Housing Benefit be backdated?

If you feel your Housing Benefit should have started from an earlier date, you should write to us requesting your entitlement be backdated. However, claims will not normally be backdated before the day that your application is made, unless you are able to show continuous good cause for not applying at the appropriate time. To support your backdate request, documentary evidence such as a Doctor’s paper, etc., should be included.

We can only backdate Housing Benefit for a maximum of 1 month.

If we have decided that you have not shown good cause and that we cannot backdate your claim, the reasons for this will be explained in our letter and you will then have the right of appeal against our decision.